5 tips to make flexible work arrangements work for your company

Flexible work is on the rise. A recent YouTube video titled “Future Of: The Rise of Co-working” by Temasek highlighted that “by 2020, nearly 50 percent of US workers will be freelancers.” It also pointed out that the number of co-working spaces here in Singapore alone has grown from just one back in 2009 to a massive 36 today.

Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim (second from left) talking about the rise of co-working at the recent ‘New Ways of Work’ Conference alongside Saranta Gattie (co-founder of The Working Capital; left) and Nancy Shyy (Regional Director of TokiChoi; right).

There is a multitude of resources that talk about the benefits of both co-working and flexible work. What’s missing, however, is a guide on how to actually implement a successful flexible work strategy in an organization. I thought I would share from my (limited) personal experience and offer some insights into how organizations could make flexible work arrangements (FWA) tick for them.

My personal experience

A quick background: I currently work for a fashion ecommerce company called TokiChoi and we recently moved to a new co-working space at The Great Room. Previously, we were based out of another co-working space for over a year. Along with the usual perks of being based in a co-working space (hot-desk, member community, etc), I also got opportunities to work out of cafes and travel a little in Southeast Asia.

I think co-working and flexible work are wonderful concepts. They do wonders for me and in turn, for the people I work with. The biggest reason I embrace this set up is because of diversity. Not only do I get to meet people from diverse backgrounds, I also get to work in diverse locations. The latter works magic for me; switching up my workplace lets me see new things (or old things from a new perspective) all the time.

Some of my most productive days have actually been outside the usual office. Each time I move somewhere new, it’s almost like starting on a blank piece of paper. It’s so clean that it sets you free and allows you to focus entirely on what you really want to get done.

Spent a productive day at the HUBBA co-working space in Bangkok on a recent trip. No footwear allowed in the office.

With that being said, I must say that FWA may not be for everyone, at least not at the start. Many of us are not used to such an arrangement and will almost certainly need some sort of transition to get used to it. Employees dealing in highly-sensitive information (e.g. national security) may also be unable to adopt FWA for obvious reasons.

How to make FWA work

1. Identify needs

I believe the first step in getting FWA right is to accurately identify the needs of both your organization and employees. This also happens to be where plenty get it wrong; a new ping-pong table or hot-desking area may not be what your people need. Organizations need to understand their employee demographics by asking some basic questions:

• Does the majority of our employees comprise millennials or baby boomers?
• How does a typical workday look like for our people?

By understanding the typical workday (user journey), organizations can better identify how ready their people are for FWA.

Where I work, we have a small team of eight that comprises a couple of relatively new moms. On days when their children need them, my colleagues are free to work from home or even bring their kids to work. This is not new for many, but the emphasis here is that organizations need to understand what their people require. This allows them to design arrangements that can fill certain gaps.

Conclusion